Voyages of the Stormwitch

Duelist

The sagas contain many stories of duels being fought to settle disputes, but in reality this was rare. Complex cases might be resolved by a duel, but these were a last resort, an admission that all other means had failed. Judicial duels, or holmgang (“island going”), were fought under elaborate traditional rules (the two combatants would row out to an island and lay out a white sheet to mark the boundaries of the fight), but that did not stop the duel from being misused by strong and malevolent individuals.

Because duels often involved the wager of property (half a man’s estate was common), and because they needn’t be fought to the death (once blood stained the white sheet, the fight could be called), some men became professional duelists, traveling from region to region to pick fights and try and amass wealth. Needless to say, professional duelists were not well-liked.